Are you bombastic?

by Davide Nastasio
2/12/2019 – Is the Bird opening an audacious attempt by chess mavericks? Or a slightly offbeat way for White to get an advantage in today's hyper-engine-analyzed opening landscape? Can the Bird's be a way to disorient our opponents using a lesser-known opening? The Bird's is an opening for players who are free spirits, says reviewer DAVIDE NASTASIO. IM Lawrence Trent in his latest work addresses this need, covering all of Black's answers, and proudly finding new moves in old lines. If you are a club or a tournament player, searching for a surprise weapon, the Bird's can give a boost to your wins!

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An energetic and exciting repertoire after 1.f4!

As an Italian transplant in Georgia (the state not the country), I didn't know the word 'bombastic', I went looking for it in the dictionary and discovered it came from the Latin word for cotton (bombax), or any kind of padding material. It seems, in turn, to have derived from the older Latin / ancient Greek word: "Bombyx" which meant silkworm or silk. And here we can relate the word used in the title of this new video series which runs "smooth like silk".

Henry BirdComing back from this etymological trip, to the opening named after British Master Henry Bird (pictured)... I learned to play Bird's because of another bombastic chap: GM Simon Williams. He is a fanatic Classical Dutch player, sometimes going into a Stonewall Dutch depending on the needs of the position.

There is a reverse-connection between the openings one can play as Black, with the one played as White. The most famous is the English which after 1.c4 e5 is a reversed Sicilian.

The same goes for other openings we play as Black which can also be played as White, in this case, we have Bird's opening and the Dutch respectively. In fact, Bird's opening is sometimes referred to as "the Dutch attack".

1.c4 e5 and 1.e4 c5


The Aggressive Classical Dutch for Black

The Dutch (1.d4 f5) is known as a very aggressive and unbalanced opening, resulting in the lowest percentage of draws among the most common replies to 1.d4 . The opening became popular during the 1951 World Championship match, where both players tried it successfully. Today, players known for spectacular attacking chess are using the opening as a dangerous, surprise weapon.


1.f4 d5 and 1.d4 f5

Bird's is a flexible opening, which also can transpose to lines in the Nimzo-Larsen attack, since depending on the move order, we can see such magnificent metamorphoses. It certainly helps keep our opponents off balance. For example: 1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 d5 4.Bb5 Bd6 5.f4 is one of these transpositions between these two openings. 

 
Nimzo-Larsen attack or Bird's?

A big difference between Black and White is whose turn to move. With Black, we need to wait, while with White we gain a tempo which we can use to attack.

Trent begins by telling us he has played Bird's himself on a few occasions. Thanks to Megabase 2019, I quickly recovered all his games with the opening and reviewed them. I found his games full of energy and fireworks. Here are a few of them:

 
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1.f4 d5 2.b3 c5 3.Bb2 Nc6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.e3 Bg4 6.Bb5 h5 7.0-0 e6 8.h3 Bxf3 9.Qxf3 h4 10.c4 Qd7 11.Nc3 Be7 12.cxd5 Nxd5 13.Nxd5 exd5 14.Rac1 Rc8 15.Kh1 a6 16.Bd3 Kf8 17.Bb1 b6 18.d4 cxd4 19.e4 Bf6 20.exd5 Ne7 21.d6 Nf5 22.Rxc8+ Qxc8 23.Bxf5 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Trent,L2246Buckley,M21841–02002A03BCF-ch 89th5
Trent,L2429Jones,G2644½–½2013B06BCF-chT 1213 (4NCL)3.152
Trent,L2391Ladron de Guevara Pinto,P2427½–½2018A03Douglas IoM op8

Mega Database 2019

The "Mega" is the database every serious chessplayer needs. The database contains 7.6 million games from 1500 to 2018, in highest quality standard, full of top level analyses and completely classified.


Before you dismiss his games played with the Bird's opening as those of 'just' and IM, with Mega we can also immediately spot the number of times the World Champion, Magnus Carlsen, has used the Bird's — four times it turns out — and with positive results: Four wins!

 
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1.f4 d5 2.Nf3 c6 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 g6 5.0-0 Bg7 6.d3 Na6 7.Nc3 0-0 8.e4 dxe4 9.dxe4 Nc7 10.e5 Nfd5 11.Ne4 Bf5 12.Qe2 Ne6 13.c4 Qb6+ 14.Kh1 Bxe4 15.Qxe4 Nc5 16.Qe2 Nb4 17.Be3 Nba6 18.a3 Qc7 19.b4 Ne6 20.Bh3 Qc8 21.f5 gxf5 22.Bxf5 Qc7 23.Qc2 Bxe5 24.Rae1 Bf6 25.Qe4 Kh8 26.Bxh7 Ng7 27.Ng5 Bxg5 28.Bxg5 f6 29.Be3 Qe5 30.Qxe5 fxe5 31.Bc2 Nc7 32.Rxf8+ Rxf8 33.Bxa7 b5 34.cxb5 Nxb5 35.Bc5 Nxa3 36.Be4 Ne6 37.Bxe7 Rf7 38.Bh4 Nd4 39.Kg2 Nc4 40.Bd3 Nf3 41.Re4 Ncd2 42.Re3 Nxh4+ 43.gxh4 Rd7 44.h5 Kg7 45.Rg3+ Kh6 46.Be2 Rg7 47.Rxg7 Kxg7 48.Kf2 Ne4+ 49.Ke3 Nd6 50.Bf3 Nf5+ 51.Kd3 Nd4 52.Be4 Kh6 53.Bg6 Kg5 54.Kc4 Nb5 55.h4+ Kh6 56.Kc5 Nc3 57.Bf7 e4 58.Kd4 Nb5+ 59.Ke3 Nc7 60.Bc4 Kxh5 61.Kxe4 Na8 62.Kd4 Nb6 63.Kc5 Na4+ 64.Kxc6 Nc3 65.Kc5 Kxh4 66.Kd4 Na4 67.Bb3 Nb6 68.Kc5 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Carlsen,M2862Petersen,C-1–02014A03Norway sim1
Carlsen,M2851Kramnik,V27891–02017A03Leuven GCT rapid5
Carlsen,M2837Adams,M27151–02017A03London Classic 9th7
Carlsen,M2832So,W28151–02017B23chess.com Speed 1m+1spm 20173.34

Hikaru Nakamura, previously one of the top ten players in the world, who seems more dedicated to the financial markets of late, has used Bird's extensively, albeit not with quite as good results as the World Champion:

 
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1.f4 Nf6 2.d3 d5 3.Nf3 g6 4.g3 Bg7 5.Bg2 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.0-0 0-0 8.Na3 Rb8 9.Ne5 Nd7 10.Nxd7 Qxd7 11.e4 dxe4 12.dxe4 Qxd1 13.Rxd1 Bg4 14.Re1 Rfd8 15.f5 gxf5 16.h3 Bd1 17.Bf4 e5 18.Bg5 f6 19.Raxd1 fxg5 20.exf5 Rxd1 21.Rxd1 Rd8 22.Rd5 b6 23.Rxd8+ Nxd8 24.Bd5+ Kf8 25.Kf2 e4 26.Ke3 Be5 27.g4 Bf4+ 28.Kxe4 Bc1 29.Nc4 b5 30.Nd6 Bxb2 31.Nxb5 a6 32.Nc7 Bxc3 33.Nxa6 Bd4 34.a4 Ke7 35.Nc7 Bc3 36.Nb5 Bb4 37.Ke5 Nf7+ 38.Bxf7 Kxf7 39.Nd6+ Ke7 40.Nc4 Bc3+ 41.Kd5 Bd4 42.a5 Kd7 43.a6 Kc7 44.Ke6 Kc6 45.f6 Bc3 46.Nd6 Kb6 47.a7 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Nakamura,H2741Lagno,K25221–02010A03Oslo BNbank Gp-A2
Nakamura,H2741Johannessen,L25141–02010A03Oslo BNbank KO1.3
Nakamura,H2775Kryvoruchko,Y27071–02014B20Wch Rapid13

At any rate, I was happy Trent created this video series because as an adult with lots of other responsibilities, my chess studies are quite erratic. One week I have time to dedicate a healthy number of hours, and the next I cannot spare much time at all. Thanks to Trent, I can instead have all the material in one neat package, specially stacked with all the latest theoretical discoveries.

What's in the video series?

As with the Dutch after 1.d4 f5 we can have a gambit with 2.e4, and the same applies to Bird's. We must be prepared! The From's gambit is 1.f4 e5 and here with White so we can actually take with 2.fxe5, when Black generally continues with 2...d6:

 
From's Gambit
Be careful!

As in my previous review on the Classical Dutch, made by GM Pert, I must caution the reader to take From's Gambit (like the Staunton Gambit for the Classical Dutch) very seriously. As we can see, Mr Bird himself paid the price for being unprepared more than once against From's gambit:

 
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1.f4 e5 2.fxe5 d6 3.exd6 Bxd6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.d4 Nc6 6.Bg5 Bg4 7.e3 Qd7 8.Bxf6 gxf6 9.Bb5 0-0-0 10.d5 Qe7 11.Bxc6 Qxe3+ 12.Qe2 Qc1+ 13.Qd1 Rde8+ 14.Bxe8 Rxe8+ 15.Kf2 Qe3+ 16.Kf1 Bxf3 17.gxf3 Bc5 18.Kg2 Rg8+ The Chess World 1866/67, p. 264 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Bird,H-Steinitz,W-0–11866A02Match Steinitz-Bird +7-5=56
Bird,H-Mason,J-0–11875A02Match Mason-Bird +11-4=49
Bird,H-Blackburne,J-0–11886A02British CA Congress-02 Masters5
Bird,H-Blackburne,J-0–11892A02London Quintangular5
Bird,H-Lasker,E-0–11895A02Hastings International Masters5

Like the Staunton's Gambit, I expect the following criticism: "but in that time they didn't have the great defensive technique we have today and didn't study with engines." Well check White's rating, and decide for yourself if it is safer to deeply study how to neutralize From's gambit. (Notice in the sample I've included some games by GM Danielsen, a leading expert in Bird's Opening.)

 
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1.f4 e5 2.fxe5 d6 3.exd6 Bxd6 4.Nf3 g5 5.g3 g4 6.Nh4 Ne7 7.e4 Ng6 8.Nf5 Bxf5 9.exf5 Ne5 10.Be2 Nbc6 11.c3 Bc5 12.d4 Qd5 13.Rf1 0-0-0 14.Be3 Rhe8 15.Kf2 Qe4 16.Re1 Nxd4 17.cxd4 Rxd4 18.Qc1 Nd3+ 19.Bxd3 Qf3+ 20.Kg1 Rxe3 21.Qxe3 Re4 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Kadric,D2554Gunduz,U22050–12018A02Belgrade Trophy 32nd2
Malaniuk,V2600Dyachkov,S25100–11998A02Russian Club Cup2
Danielsen,H2526Stern,R24740–12002A02BL2-Nord 01027.1
Danielsen,H2526Chojnacki,K24160–12008A02Police Gniota Memorial 23rd9

Trent for his part takes From's Gambit quite seriously, because he dedicated an entire section to it, with five videos. And he worked very hard to come up with a new concept for fighting the gambit. As someone who has played Bird's in a tournament and also in matches, I wish I had Trent's knowledge beforehand. It would have saved me many points. Just the section on From's Gambit justifies the price of the DVD in my opinion.

Trent also mentioned one other important point, in case From's Gambit is not your cup of tea. After 1.f4 e5 if White plays 2.e4 he enters the King's Gambit. ChessBase has a pair of video series authored by GM Williams, who will teach everyone how to play the King's Gambit successfully. This is worth considering because it could bring the opponent totally out of his theoretical preparation if he just knows about From's but is not a habitual 1...e5 player.

But the real novelty of this DVD is something which I believe was missing for those who, like me, love to watch videos. Trent is actually presenting a Bird's-Leningrad repertoire, after the moves: 1.f4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.g3

 
Leningrad-Bird's repertoire

The name is a reference to the Leningrad Dutch which we have after the moves:

1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.Nf3

 
Leningrad Dutch

The Leningrad was previously treated in two other ChessBase video series:

Obviously, if one learns to play it as Black, this Leningrad-ish Bird's Opening as White will come naturally — one just has an extra tempo.

After the introduction video, the first section is dedicated to rare lines. It is made up of seven videos, in which Trent definitely did the homework for us, finding the strangest replies, and giving us the tools we need to neutralize them.

I never encountered many of these lines in tournament games, but enjoyed being exposed to material I didn't know, which will make me more prepared for future tournament games. I found Trent's description of the Hobbs gambit funny:

"To put it delicately, the move g7-g5 is garbage"

Now if the Hobbs Gambit is garbage, considering the number of people who lost with White, I think one must nevertheless be prepared. Here are few games Carlsen's second Peter Heine Nielsen won, but the other players were swallowed up by the 'garbage'.

 
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1.e41,165,57054%2421---
1.d4946,47455%2434---
1.Nf3281,31256%2441---
1.c4181,93756%2442---
1.g319,68856%2427---
1.b314,23654%2427---
1.f45,88648%2377---
1.Nc33,79651%2384---
1.b41,75348%2380---
1.a31,19754%2403---
1.e31,06848%2408---
1.d394850%2378---
1.g466246%2361---
1.h444653%2374---
1.c342651%2425---
1.h327956%2416---
1.a410860%2468---
1.f39147%2431---
1.Nh38966%2508---
1.Na34262%2482---
1.f4 g5 2.fxg5 h6 3.g6 fxg6 4.e4 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bg7 6.d4 d6 7.c3 Bg4 8.Be2 e5 9.d5 Nce7 10.0-0 Nf6 11.Be3 Qd7 12.h3 Bxf3 13.Bxf3 0-0 14.c4 Rf7 15.Nc3 Raf8 16.Bg4 Nxg4 17.Qxg4 Qxg4 18.hxg4 a6 19.c5 Kh7 20.b4 g5 21.a4 Ng6 22.b5 Nf4 23.c6 axb5 24.axb5 b6 25.g3 Nd3 26.Rxf7 Rxf7 27.Rf1 Kg6 28.Rxf7 Kxf7 29.Bxb6 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Nielsen,P2628Raetsky,A23931–02004A02ACP Blitz Prelim316
Chartier,L1888Shirazi,K24400–12008A02Paris Apsap op 103rd1
Becx,C2300Bergsson,S22300–11990A02Reykjavik op4

That's enough for the sample of games — I think the best would be to have Megabase 2019, and through the weekly updates to the over 7 million games, one can make a search for each line, and check as many games as possible to discover what works and what doesn't.

The video series is accompanied by a custom database of 144 model games, and Trent annotates many of these games in the videos. After watching the videos, an ambitious student could annotate the games and see what he or she remembers from Trent's analysis. Then it would be quite useful to watch the video again and see what was missed or forgotten.

Trent, throughout the series, gives improvements to the moves played in actual games, like the following position which comes from a game I showed above.

 
Lots of actual improvements!

Trent says White should play 8.Qb3 (Nielsen played 8.Be2) and you can play it directly in the diagram above against the engine. Another way to use the video series is to play lines like this one against Fritz. I gave the move/improvement by Trent, but in the video he follows up to move 12 and then gives an evaluation, and possible plans for White.

Trent doesn't really treat the move 1...c5 with the idea to play a Sicilian. However in the section dedicated to 1.f4 d6 Trent goes over some lines which transpose into the Grand Prix Attack, for example, 1.f4 d6 2.e4 c5

 
Transposition to the Grand Prix

His suggestion, for those who would like to learn about the Grand Prix, is to get his ChessBase DVD, which covers it quite well.

Trent treats some pawn structures which are similar to the Sicilian, for example in the section Fianchetto and e6 he shows how White deals when Black plays e6 d5 c5, for example after the moves 1.f4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.g3 e6 4.Bg2 c5

 
Sicilian structures
Well covered by Trent

White continues castling kingside, and then Black has many options, all covered deeply by Trent.

There are also other lines, explained by Trent, which clearly seems coming from Sicilian structures, like the following: 1.f4 g6 2.Nf3 Bg7 3. g3 c5 4.Bg2 d6 5.0-0 Nc6 and here Trent would continue with 6.d3. Trent says this would transpose into the lines with d5 and he deals with them more in that section.

 
Another example of a Sicilian structure

Final thoughts

Trent has unearthed a lot of significant theoretical improvements which are worth studying. ChessBase's training system unites the best of two worlds: books and videos. In this DVD there are 144 games, which one can use for replay training — the new feature introduced with ChessBase 15 (the best training for learning a new opening). This dovetails nicely with videos and interactive training. Then, of course, one must follow up with practice, such as online blitz games, and moving on to play in tournaments with long time control games. Trent did his part and delivered on his promises. He promised he would prepare us against From's Gambit, and he covered all the lines of this tricky attempt at a refutation to Bird's Opening. Then, of course, there is the main repertoire, which is a new way to play Bird's, compared to the way I played it before (as a reverse Classical Dutch).

While I consider 1.f4 a good opening, and I have used it a lot in tournaments with good results, I don't advise it for beginners or players who are not able to recognize transpositions into other openings. For example, while working on this review I happened to see some games by the legendary Bobby Fischer and also GMs like Davies who, when playing against the Sicilian or the French, use the King's Indian Attack, entered by transposition into what we could call the Bird's (but not playing f4 as the first move and instead much later in the game). The point is: the ideas we can get from those games can be applied to Bird's, we just need to be flexible enough to see how to incorporate pattern (e.g. related to a knight or other piece manoeuvres) into our own 1.f4 games. My fear is that someone around 1500-1700 doesn't understand nuances to handle the opening correctly. So my advice would be to begin studying the Dutch, and then after practising a little over the board with the Dutch, begin to learn Bird's.

Trent's series on the Grand Prix Attack, explains many attacking themes on the kingside. Those ideas and patterns can be applied both to the Classical Dutch and the Bird's. One last thing: I'm quite happy ChessBase made this DVD. It's really great fun, and I love Trent's presentation style. He is quite pragmatic and focuses on important points we need to remember.


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Davide is a chess aficionado who regularly reviews books and DVDs.

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